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Phase Reverse is a heavy rock band from Greece and has all the guts to be the next big thing all over the music world. Metal-Rules.com got in touch with the Phase drummer, Alex Alexiou by the way of the release of their debut album, the upcoming new DVD, the download issue and much more…

Metal Rules.com: Alex, good evening how are you?

ALEX: First, we are in Athens and in the middle of the removal of the recording studio… We leave behind the place that we did the rehearsals and right now this move to our PHASE REVERSE STUDIOS where we can do much more easily the rehearsals and the other sound recordings of PHASE REVERSE.

Metal Rules.com: Congratulations for your first full-length album! A few months have passed since the release of your (excellent) debut album. Another one point has been added in the rock metal map of the world!

ALEX: Thanks a lot for your good words, but I have the sense that there are a lot of those kinds of points in Greek and we have to detect it.

Metal Rules.com: Which are the main influences on the Phase sound?

ALEX: The influences of PHASE REVERSE is anything that is similar to blues and its ramifications, rock’n’roll, hard rock, metal , without it leaving out our roots and the sound that someone can dig out in Greece and it is so near all the above music genres.

Metal Rules.com: Now, tell us something about the music style that you represent and its feedback in Greece.

ALEX: Well, we play rock’n’roll, as I said before. Basically, all of us listen to rock’n’roll and it’s so natural to play rock’n’roll, don’t you think? Now, people put Phase Reverse to different music categories, heavy metal, stoner, southern rock etc. We believe that the most right characterization for our music style is heavy rock. Generally speaking, the Greek audience is very fanatic and die-hard and, as we believe, extensively supports the bands. It’s not so accidental that Greek fans have been characterized by the apical bands as the most hot and devout public.

Metal Rules.com: What’s the creation part of a Phase album? How did/do you work on that?

ALEX: Ok, the meaning of a band is the collective work and creation. Habitually, we start rehearsals and conclude to one riff that we like and try to develop it into song. Indeed, there are a lot of times that one of us has an idea on mind and gives it forth, and then the rest of us starts work on this idea gradually to run into song. We do the preproduction to gain a supervisory point of view of the songs. Herewith, we decide on which of the songs would be in the album and through we do our best in the part of songs’ production. (The specifics make the difference)

Metal Rules.com: Which are your favourite songs of the album and why?

ALEX: Hm, I would say “EYE TO EYE “, due to the fact that it was the first Phase song that was written.

Metal Rules.com: I think that ‘Road fever’ has an AC/DC taste, isn’t it?

ALEX: Yes, it is. It is something which came out unconsciously and I think that it confirms what we said even before, the fact that we grew up with rock’n’roll and we ‘natural’ play rock’n’roll.

Metal Rules.com: Have you any plans right now about the next album?

ALEX: The truth is that we are in pre-production stage of the next album, after the seminal stage of the creation of our first DVD from the ‘’PHASE ONE TOUR’’. We play and write songs at every turn and our brand new and upcoming stuff has a lot of surprises within.

Metal Rules.com: Do you thing it’s right for bands/musicians to be categorized by their musical style?

ALEX: Music categories exist only for the royal communication between us. We don’t believe to this type of categories of music, which limit the music, cultures and social coveys as well. We do respect to all kinds of music, all of them have a reason to live, you know, we adopt things form music and we express those ones through music. If only rock wasn’t the ‘bad’ music and pop would be like this, if you know what I mean.

Metal Rules.com: What do you think of today’s music industry in general?

We believe that we are in front of huge changes as far as the worldwide music industry concern, and this has to do with the audience and especially with the previous and the actual thought and believe of a person that listens to music. Nowadays, people have measure and don’t be manipulated. Fans are able to think and adjudge what is good or bad and what they prefer to listen. Indeed, this happens, because past years there are fewer bands and record labels. Now, they have thousands bands to choose to listen and hundred of record labels all over the world and probably of the same music genre! In addition, the standards are not the same as in the past, as one band cannot bank on its music and live appearance, its ok, but I wish not for the opposite! Anyway, all these affect the way record labels to promote their rosters’ bands, as long as the cost of production of an album raises on and on, but due to different reasons and cases the cd sales descend! On the other hand, we can see the development of the independent labels and companies, which try to survive within this battle! We’ll see what’s going to happen in the end!

Metal Rules.com: What’s your opinion on downloading?

ALEX: Back to the vinyl!!! It’s a sign of our time! If you saw a bag with fresh oranges in the middle of the road, will you get it? Take another fruit, if you don’t like the oranges! (laughs!!!) You would do that, because you feel inside that you haven’t done any damage to anyone, regardless of you don’t like them afterwards. You can see and interpret the downloading issue like this: ‘’it’s free, I’ll get it then’’. Thereupon, you say that which is the relation between the songs and the oranges? Both of them are products for consumption. Nothing but, in the instance of a song there are more middlemen as the song arrives in the fans’ ear. The whole matter of illegality as far as the downloading concern is created mainly by the intellectual property labels, which feel that they loose a lot of money without be able to do their job (pimp business!) Respectively, the bands loose something. The intellectual property, by them, has not to be tradeable, because it has not to have a price. If you have music on your mind and you want to share it, you share it because it’s impulse to do it. If not, stay at home and play your song for your personal entertainment. If you fear the copying of your riffs and music, consolidate them. I f you want to be the hooker, employ a pimp. If your pimp takes the half of the money which you earn, change the pimp. To conclude, people have changed their way of thinking and anyone that relates to music has to become aware of it. When you earn your living from a job that declares to people and it is up to them, you have to eavesdrop them. We don’t think that downloading is illegal. We strongly believe that is incorrect, as you love listening to music and you have the money to buy a cd or vinyl, just do it. It’s much better by the quality issue speaking, because you listen besides with bigger constancy the thing that they offer to you. They just try to live their passion for music. They want only an ethic satisfaction for the work that they have done. Now, if anyone has not the money to buy the cd or vinyl and goes in for listening to the brand new album of his favourite band, he can listen to music through internet whenever he want. If he wants to have the music with him, he can download it from the electronic market with much less money than buying it in a cd form. Thus, if he cannot, let’s download it for free having on his mind to buy once an album from this band. Indeed, cd or vinyl is not a need for your life, but it’s a small sacrifice for your favourite band to live. Beside the point, the point that I have never understood is that how many people go to the doggeries and spend on them about thousand Euros, but they don’t have 10€ to buy an album of the artist that they have seen live before! Can those people look themselves in the mirror and say: ‘’Why am I listening to music? ‘’ We have so many things to say about those issues and there will be for sure a lot of people that they’ll get angry with us. At any rate, we are not hookers and have our mind clean in front of fans.

Metal Rules.com: What’s your wildest dream, musically speaking?

ALEX: Phase Reverse have lots of dreams to fulfill and we don’t think that these ones are so crazy. We always try and do our best. For the present, we work as a band and create songs for people. It’s so magic thing the communication with other people via music. Wherever is a man and listens to music, our souls communicate then. Is any dream crazier?

Metal Rules.com: Could you share with us the funniest/weirdest thing that ever happened on a ‘Phase Reverse’ live show?

ALEX: A lot of crazy things happen in our live performances, but the most times there are some slight things that we catch and understand. Specifically, there are a lot of laughs and cries when damages and misses happen to us and in our instruments in every live performance (laughs!!!). Something funny and historical is the immediate response ‘’Where we drink, there we play!’’.

Metal Rules.com: Have you any live shows to give hereafter and where?

ALEX: We are about to organize the this year’s winter tour ‘’PHASE TWO TOUR’’ including shows in Greece and some in Europe and America. Definitely, we have the release of DVD ‘’PHASE ONE’’ till Christmas and the creation of the second Phase studio album, which is going to release the summer of 2011.

Metal Rules.com: Alex, thank you for this interview, I wish the best for you and the rest of the Phase! Keep on rockin!

ALEX: Thank you, Elias, and we wish to you and Rockrace all the best! May the Phase be with you all brothers and sisters!!!